Javier Pérez-Ramírez (born 28 October 1974) is a Professor of

Catalysis Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quick ...

and

Chemical Engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

ETH Zurich ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...

Career

Javier Pérez-Ramírez (JPR) studied

at the University of Alicante, and later obtained his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

TU Delft The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft; ) is the oldest and largest Dutch public university, public Institute of technology, technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. It specializes in engineering, technology, computing, design, a ...

(2002). He worked for

Norsk Hydro Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a Norway, Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. It is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. It has operations in some 50 countries around th ...

and

Yara International Yara International ASA is a Norwegian chemical company. It produces, distributes, and sells nitrogen-based mineral fertilizers and related industrial products. Its product line also includes phosphate and potash-based mineral fertilizers, as we ...

and returned to academia as an ICREA research professor at the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia, related to the

Rovira i Virgili University University of Rovira i Virgili (; ) is located in the Catalan cities of Tarragona, Reus, Tortosa Vila-seca, el Vendrell and Vilafranca del Penedès (Spain). Its name is in honor of Antoni Rovira i Virgili. The Universitat Rovira i Virgili i ...

(2005-2009). Since 2010, he is

Full Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...

of Catalysis Engineering at the Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering at the

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...

. In 2018 he became visiting professor and director of th
Flagship Green Energy Program
at th
National University of Singapore
He is Editorial Board Chair of ''

Green Chemistry Green chemistry, similar to sustainable chemistry or circular chemistry, is an area of chemistry and chemical engineering focused on the design of products and processes that minimize or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. Wh ...

'', and sits on the editorial board of '' Advanced Functional Materials'',
Applied Catalysis B: Environmental
', ''

ACS Catalysis ''ACS Catalysis'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal established in 2011 by the American Chemical Society. The journal covers research on all aspects of heterogeneous, homogeneous, and biocatalysis. The editor-in-chief is Cathleen Crudd ...

'', ''

Energy Technology Energy development is the field of activities focused on obtaining sources of energy from natural resources. These activities include the production of renewable, nuclear, and fossil fuel derived sources of energy, and for the recovery and r ...

'', and
Catalysis Communications
'. Since 2018, Pérez-Ramírez is president of th
Catalysis Section
of the Swiss Chemical Society. He is Swiss representative of th

Since 2020, he direct
NCCR Catalysis
a national center of competence in research funded by th
Swiss National Science Foundation

Research

Pérez-Ramírez's central research focuses on the fundamental design and technical development of new

heterogeneous catalysts Heterogeneous catalysis is catalysis where the phase of catalysts differs from that of the reagents or products. The process contrasts with homogeneous catalysis where the reagents, products and catalyst exist in the same phase. Phase distingui ...

and

reactor engineering Chemical reaction engineering (reaction engineering or reactor engineering) is a specialty in chemical engineering or industrial chemistry dealing with chemical reactors. Frequently the term relates specifically to catalytic reaction systems whe ...

concepts, favoring the more efficient and

sustainable Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

manufacturing within the

chemical industry The chemical industry comprises the companies and other organizations that develop and produce industrial, specialty and other chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, the chemical industry converts raw materials ( oil, natural gas, air, ...

. He has developed novel catalysts for the gas-phase

oxidation Redox ( , , reduction–oxidation or oxidation–reduction) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of the reactants change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is ...

hydrogen chloride The Chemical compound, compound hydrogen chloride has the chemical formula and as such is a hydrogen halide. At room temperature, it is a colorless gas, which forms white fumes of hydrochloric acid upon contact with atmospheric water vapor. Hyd ...

(

Deacon process The Deacon process, invented by Henry Deacon, is a process used during the manufacture of alkalis (the initial end product was sodium carbonate) by the Leblanc process. Hydrogen chloride gas was converted to chlorine gas, which was then used to m ...

) and has done major and groundbreaking contributions in the rational design of hierarchical

zeolite Zeolites are a group of several microporous, crystalline aluminosilicate minerals commonly used as commercial adsorbents and catalysts. They mainly consist of silicon, aluminium, oxygen, and have the general formula ･y where is either a meta ...

Awards

Pérez-Ramírez's work of nearly 480 articles and 17 patents has been recognized by several major prizes, including the Paul H. Emmett Award in Fundamental Catalysis (2019), Xingda Lecturship of Peking University (2018), Sustainable Energy Award (2017), the Beilby Medal and Prize (2014), the EFCATS Young Researcher Award (2013), the DECHEMA Otto Roelen Medal (2012), the Andrew Main lectureship (2013), the UOP-Honeywell Invitational Lectureship (2012), and the KNCV Prijs voor Katalyse (2003). In 2013, he has been elected

Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry Fellowship of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) is one of the most prestigious awards conferred by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in the United Kingdom. Existing Fellows include award winning scientists and Nobel prize winners. FRSC awa ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez-Ramirez, Javier 1974 births Living people Spanish chemists Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry University of Alicante alumni Academic staff of ETH Zurich